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After a shaky start (at least on our end), the contest to win tickets to New York Taste was a stunning success. Our fantastic Grub Street readers submitted hundreds of recipes and pleas for a chance to see their favorite chef. So what have we learned about you? Primarily, your grandmas must be so proud. You remember their recipes, continue to serve their food, and speak of them with love. Secondly, a whole lot of those grandmas made meatballs. There were dozens of meatball recipes. And if your submissions indicate any subconscious desire, tasting events need more desserts. Most of you want to try Dan Barber's food, but you haven't because you're too broke, can't get a table, or live in Brooklyn and don't have a car. It was easy to pick a winner in the chef category, but the recipe bit was difficult. (Also: Do that many of you honestly have dinner parties and serve an amuse bouche? Really? Color us impressed.) We picked about twenty favorites and selected the winner after consulting with Grub Street editors across the country. Some recipes sounded amazing, but weren't self-contained enough to be a bite. Others were so complicated that our eyes glazed over around step eleven. Our favorites were simple, flavorful, and possible to to re-create even with limited abilities and resources. So who are the big winners?

For his impassioned reasoning behind why he's never eaten at Butter, we chose Andrew Bilach's entry:

My girlfriend has always wanted to go to Butter because she's heard good things about Alexandra Guarnaschelli's menu and product. I'll be honest, I've been dying to go as well, but can't stand the clientele. Men in tight pants. The music drives me nuts. I'm just not a scenester, and would rather eat alone facing two walls than listen to people talk about how much they hate their lives, pressing buttons on Blackberries, and the ever-so-popular, "Oh my God, I so worked 100 hours this week." Basically, this is why we have never gone to Butter, because I am way too much of a child to be able to block out the stuff that bothers me.

Hope I win, and thank you very much for reading my very bitter New
Yorker submission.

-Andrew

PS: My girlfriend and I are actually very nice people and polar opposites.

And for a fantastic variation on roasted Brussels sprouts, we congratulate Katherine Lamper.

Brussel sprout browned in rendered pancetta fat, accompanied with a piece of the aforementioned pancetta and cooked shallot.

Not a winner? There's still room for you at New York Taste. Buy a ticket!